Automation of flight processes and aircraft onboard equipment increases efficiency and safety during operation of the aircraft. At the same time, such automated systems can complete action items and make changes whether or not flight crew members are actively aware of the action items and/or changes. Situational awareness is critical, such that the flight crew can prepare for upcoming automated changes during the flight, accommodate workload and tasking prioritization, and base operational decisions on such upcoming automated changes. Examples of automated processes may include, without limitation, Lateral Navigation (LNAV) Autopilot Modes and Vertical Navigation (VNAV) Autopilot Modes. The VNAV function aids the flight crew to control to the desired vertical path with the consideration of altitude and speed, and the VNAV function is also responsible for guiding the aircraft when it has diverged from the descent trajectory. Generally, the VNAV commanded trajectories and the modes change autonomously as flight conditions evolve during flight.
A situation requiring a VNAV mode transition during high workload phases of flight (e.g., descent flight phase, approach flight phase) may not be immediately recognizable to flight crew members. Typical aircraft display configurations may present multiple VNAV commands and/or present a combination of VNAV commands with graphical elements and text associated with other systems, processes, or modes. Such display configurations may require close attention to detail, and thus increased pilot workload, to decipher a current VNAV mode and potentially applicable VNAV mode changes.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide increased situational awareness data (e.g., LNAV and VNAV mode data) during flight. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.